1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to contextual communications, and more particularly to systems, methods and computer programs for the storage and retrieval of multimedia messages on low-cost barcode or radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, thereby allowing such messages to be affixed to physical, real-world objects.
2. Related Art
In today's technological environment, electronic communications mechanisms can be classified as either Person-to-Person (P2P), Unidirectional, Annotated, Social, Bulletin Board or Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communications. This classification system is based on the type of participants in the communications and usage patterns.
Well known P2P communications paradigms involve a telephone or conference call where persons dial a number to get connected and then talk using audio signals. This method of communication is characterized by its real-time nature and the message exchange is synchronized. Other forms of popular P2P communications methodologies include electronic mail (E-mail), instant messaging, text messaging and Push-to-Talk (i.e., PTT—a method of conversing on half-duplex communication lines, including two-way radio, using a momentary button to switch from voice reception mode to transmit mode). All these communications methodologies are characterized by the presence of named senders and receivers, who are typically known a priori, and use a variety of addressing mechanisms and protocols.
Unidirectional messaging includes items such as News feeds and Web logs (also known as “blogs”). This method of communications has become more popular with the rise in the access to, and use of, the global, public Internet and the World Wide Web (WWW). In this method of communications, the content of any one communication is not typically addressed to any single individual or group of individuals by the sender/publisher. Rather, the content is “pulled” through a browsing mechanism or through a feed reader such as the Real Simple Syndication (RSS) family of Web feed formats. In this method of communication, the receiving parties are usually not known a priori.
Annotated messaging in a shared context is exemplified by such mechanisms as posting comments to an electronic document. Annotated messaging is a good example of contextual communication where messages are attached to a repository of information. This form of communications, however, usually does not name participants.
Social messaging uses tools such as Chat rooms and Internet Relay Chat (IRC) technologies allow group (i.e., many-to-many) communication in discussion forums called channels, and also allow one-to-one communications via private messages over the Internet. The persons involved in this type of discussions are identified using a priori registrations but are not necessarily (personally) known to each other.
Finally, M2M communications involve digital processing units running one or more specialized applications exchanging messages with one another, usually to automate a particular task as encoded by the developers and/or users of the applications.
The above-described mechanisms of electronic communications, while they allow for rapid on-line/electronic communications, all have one deficiency. That deficiency is that they do not allow themselves to be associated with a physical (i.e., real world, non-virtual) context. For example, it would be very valuable to attach a voice message to a (tangible) gift, whereby the recipient of the gift can then easily retrieve the message when receiving the gift. Current mechanisms of sending messages with a gift include a printed or written communication in the form of a short note or a greeting card. There is no “electronic” way to “attach” a message with the physical context. While certain “clumsy” mechanisms can be thought of—such as sending an audio tape with the gift or writing a note containing a URL where an electronic message may be downloaded—there is no simple and elegant way to exchange rich electronic messages that can be tied to physical world contexts.
To further quantify the above-described problem, one need only consider the example of a doctor providing instructions to a patient on the usage of a particular prescription drug. Current mechanisms for receiving such instructions include the patient having to remember the doctor's instructions, or a printed label attached to the drug by the pharmacist with an often cryptic message such as: “Take 3× day with food.” There are no easy ways to listen to doctor's (detailed) instructions at the time (and place) of actually taking the drug by the patient. Patients either have to memorize the doctor's instructions or write it down somewhere. Oftentimes, however, the instructions are forgotten or misunderstood.
The two above examples point to a need for contextual communications where electronic messages can be attached or affixed to physical, real-world objects. Currently, there are at least three challenges for developing cost-effective, simple-to-use contextual messaging. First and foremost, there has to be an addressing mechanism to address an electronic communication to a physical world object or context. Second, the mechanics for storing and retrieving the messages have to be simple and intuitive to be of practical use. Third, the systems, methods and computer program products need to be cost effective in order to apply them to the marketplace in any meaningful way.
Given the foregoing, what are needed are systems, method and computer program products for the storing and retrieving of multimedia messages on low-cost tags, such as barcode and RFID tags, thereby facilitating contextual communications where such messages can be attached to physical, real-world objects.